Pep Talk or Reality Check- Please :)

[Snowhite]

My cousin opened a beauty salon in the beginning of April and suggested I make jewelry to sell there.  Well, I have a good deal made already and just gave her a call to stop by the salon... to show her the pieces and drop them off for sale. 

I have used all silver/gold plated metals, shell pendants, semi precious gemstones and pendants, and nicer glass beads. Each set is a necklace and matching bracelet.  I kept track of all costs and used the the 3X the cost method plus $10 for my time and $5 for her having them at her store.  So the first sets I was going to have at her store would be priced $30 each (I did round up or down.. more often down....on a few prices to make the money exchange easier for her)  I have also purchased a display, silk bags, and custom tags for each set.

Today she told me $5 is not enough, she will need at least $10 because she is going to be talking to the customers about them and doing the actual transaction.  Okay, I will use the extra 1X I figured into my price for overhead (displays, bags, tags, etc) for her and eat the loss.

She then said that $30 is too much for handmade jewelry.. she is saying this based on the jewelry that was selling at her other salon.

So I feel stuck!  If I swing the $10 for her and lower my price... I will be earning peanuts for all my work.  I feel like throwing in the towel, but I have alot invested in this already.  Do I eat the cost and try to recover what I paid for them.... or stick to my guns and leave it at my $30 price.. with her taking $10?  Am I overpricing my work.. am I being unrealistic?  How much should I be giving her for her part?

Huh.. I don't know if I need a pep talk or a reality check. 

[jungrrl]

You don't need a reality check, your cousin does.

[ZuckerBaby]

I agree with Jungrrl....sounds like your cousin wants to make money off of your talents.

[Circlesofstone]

If your cousin thinks your prices are too high for her customers, then I don't think that is the place for you to sell your items. You should not be eating any of your costs just so she can make a bigger profit.

You can look into buying more of your items wholesale to try and lower your costs, but if that isn't possible and you don't want to go to an inferior quality of product (I don't suggest that), then just thank her but let her know you don't think it is going to work out.

[Melvinator]

I think you should stick to your guns. As a crafty person and jewelry "person", I know that $30 is not too much for jewelry (esp a set!) and if she thinks otherwise then politely let her know you disagree and that you can sell them online for the amount of work and time you put into them. 

If you wanted to lower your costs, I'd definitely have it on a sliding scale based on how much work you put into each item and what you feel each is worth.

[CraftyChef]

How much does she charge to cut hair? Is your jewelry priced higher that her cut? It could be that her customers aren't your customers.

You could also go another way. Make less expensive items, but she'll have to take a lesser share of the profits.

Whatever the case, both of you didn't do your homework. She's probably thinking in terms that you're making the whole $30 in profit, so she wants a third of that. She's not aware of the cost of the materials, and the value of your time and skills, though it's not much different from salon work (overhead and supplies, and time/skills to cut the hair).

[Snowhite]

TY all for the replies.

Her salon is very high scale... think Luxe Day Spa.  So really, putting plastic jewelry in there would be an insult to her customers, her salon, and me!

And yes, we should have discussed this before I started buying supplies.  Lesson learned... and I will not make that mistake again.  I have since found a few sites that offers beads and findings cheap (well, cheaper than anything else I could find) and will plan my sets beforehand.

I kept my original collection at $30 but also added a mix of sets that were less costly on my end for $20 and $25.  I did get alot of feedback from customers that were there (they loved my stuff) and now know they would like individual pieces as opposed to sets.  I am currently making double strand stone chip bracelets.

I have to restructure my pricing.  I can swing $10 on a $30 set.... but not $10 on a $20 set.  I am going to figure it so she gets a 1/3 of the price... that seems fair to her... and now with my less costly supplies.. doable.